Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (JoeMazzello!JohnDeacon fanfic)

six

"Are you hungry?" he asks, cutting her off and as if on cue, at the mere mention of food, the young woman's stomach growls loudly and he lets out a soft laugh, "I take that as a yes." 

"Starving," she admits. 

"There's a twenty-four-hour diner about a twenty-minute walk from here. Me and the guys go all the time. It's really cheesy and it has this American theme and they all wear these ridiculous uniforms but the food is am-"

"Okay," she says quickly and John is quick to stop his rambling. 

"Okay?" 

"Yes," Roxanne laughs, grabbing her light cardigan off of the back of the nearby chair, "You had me at cheesy." 

++|++

It may have been late but the night air was still so uncomfortably warm as the pair make their way down the deserted roads of London.

It's silent between them but Roxy doesn't really mind. She quite likes listening to the sounds of the big city; music playing from a distant party, sirens wailing and from the flats their walking by, the could hear a couple arguing. 

Roxanne's eyes flutter shut as a welcome breeze blows by them, latching onto John's arm when she trips over an uneven slab on the pavement, "Sorry."

Even in the fading light she can see the red tinge on his cheeks, "That's quite alright." 

The diner's neon Hollywood signage is a welcome sight and Roxanne knows that it won't be long until her hunger is satisfied. 

She thanks John when he opens the door for her and she grins when she sees that it's just as cheesy as he had said. 

She'd seen it before in American movies; the black and white chequered linoleum flooring, the classic red and white booths. On the walls, there are posters of Buddy Holly, Fats Waller and Doris Day along with old LPs and of course, there's the long-sit down counter with the stools. 

To Roxanne, it feels as if she's just stepped back in time and she loves it. 

They snag a booth up near the back of the building, by the window and underneath a crackling speaker, where the sounds of the Andrews Sisters play quietly in the background. 

The place is pretty deserted except from a woman in the NHS uniform at the counter and a few youths who are all sat in a booth at the other end of the diner. 

Roxanne picks up the sticky laminated menu and skims over it quickly to find the burger. 

"Get anything you want," John tells her, giving her a smile and she lowers her menu so she can look at him.

"You might regret saying that, John Deacon." 

A few minutes later, the waitress -who looks as if she wants to be anywhere but here- is standing by their booth though she does perk up at the sight of John, "Hi there, can I get you some drinks to start off with?" 

"Can I have a coke please?" Roxanne asks, slightly amused at the way she's twirling a lock of her brown hair around her finger. 

"Make that two, thanks." John doesn't even look up from the menu as he's still trying to decide what he's going to have. 

"I'll bring those right over and take your food orders."

She already knows what she's having. You can't go wrong with a good beef burger. Unless you're a vegetarian of course. 

The waitress returns with their drinks and sets them down, pen poised to take their orders and since John looks to be having an internal struggle about what to choose, Roxanne goes first, "I'll have the classic burger, please. No tomato if that's alright." 

The young woman nods, "No tomato. And what about you handsome?" 

Roxanne is impressed. John hasn't so much as looked at her but -she squints to read her nametag- Kim, is going for it.

This obviously gets John's attention and he looks up with comically wide eyes, "I'm sorry?" 

Kim smiles down at him, "What can I get you?" 

Roxanne giggles as John's cheeks flush red for a second time that evening as he scratches the back of his neck, "I'll have the diner dog. Please." 

"Good choice," she grins, "That's my favourite." 

"And can we have some loaded fries for the table?" Roxanne asks, just catching sight of the item at the bottom of the menu, shrugging when John looks at her, "You did say order anything." 

"I'll get the kitchen right on that," Kim smiles, keeping her eyes on John, "Shouldn't be too long. We're not exactly busy." 

She disappears and even though she's completely out of earshot, John looks mildly uncomfortable and Roxanne laughs, "She was interested in you, Mr Deacon." 

He struggles to stutter out a reply, toying with one of the salt shakers on the table, "It doesn't happen very often."

Roxanne frowns, "Really?"

He nods, shrugging, "If Roger's here, us other guys don't really stand a chance." 

Before she can reply, Kim returns with their food and as soon as she's set the tray of chips down on the table, Roxanne is digging in and she almost moans at how good they taste. 

"Thank you," John says once more and the waitress gives him another bright grin before disappearing to stand behind the counter once more, where Roxanne can see her not so subtly looking their way every couple of minutes. 

The two of them eat silently for a good bit, too busy enjoying the fantastic food and then John nods to her burger, "Is it alright?"

She nods, "God yes, it's incredible." 

She lets out a startled noise when there's a bang on the window beside them, looking to see Roger grinning at the two of them and waving. 

"Dear god," she whispers, both watching him as he makes his way to the door, the little bell tinkling as he enters the diner. 

"What are you two doing here?" he asks, approaching their booth, eyes lighting up at the food that's on the table, "Oh, you have food. Great, 'm starving." 

With that, he forces himself onto the bench beside John, who reluctantly shuffles up to make room as Roger helps himself to the chips and then reaches across to cut Roxanne's burger in half. 

Well, it was a nice night while it lasted.